For those who can't get enough Italy--our trip to Amalfi coast, Umbria, Tuscany, and Liguria
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:51 AM
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For those who can't get enough Italy--our trip to Amalfi coast, Umbria, Tuscany, and Liguria
Like several others on this board, I have just recently returned from a wonderful time in Italy. My husband and I and another couple spent 22 days on the Amalfi coast and in Umbria, Tuscany, Florence and Liguria. With such a long trip to report on, I will not provide a day by day account but rather will try to hit the highlights. If some of the language seems a bit stilted, please understand that I am trying to avoid using contractions so that I do not need to clean up so much when I transfer my document from Word to the Fodor site.
Weather
We left on September 14 and returned on October 7. During the entire time we had near perfect weather. Days in the high 70s/low to mid 80s, nights in the 60s and 70s, almost constant sunshine. Italy, like so much of Europe, needed rain but we certainly enjoyed the lack of it.
Entry
We flew into Rome/Fumicino but never set foot in the Eternal City, just sought out Renato Cuomo, recommended on this forum and waiting patiently for us, who drove us and our bags directly to Positano on the Amalfi coast. It was a wonderful luxury to just hop into a van and not worry about connecting by train through Naples (my vote for the most anarchic city in Europe) or driving the dreaded highway of death
Weather
We left on September 14 and returned on October 7. During the entire time we had near perfect weather. Days in the high 70s/low to mid 80s, nights in the 60s and 70s, almost constant sunshine. Italy, like so much of Europe, needed rain but we certainly enjoyed the lack of it.
Entry
We flew into Rome/Fumicino but never set foot in the Eternal City, just sought out Renato Cuomo, recommended on this forum and waiting patiently for us, who drove us and our bags directly to Positano on the Amalfi coast. It was a wonderful luxury to just hop into a van and not worry about connecting by train through Naples (my vote for the most anarchic city in Europe) or driving the dreaded highway of death
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:53 AM
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Amalfi coast
We spent three days in Positano and enjoyed every minute. It is one of our favorite places in the whole world and it always delights us. We stayed again at the Covo dei Saraceni, directly on the beach next to the ferry dock platform. Rooms with balconies looking out onto the beach there provide an endless opportunity for people and activity watching. The hotel has renovated their pool area, making it a truly special place to hang out and relax. From Positano we took day trips to Amalfi and to Ravello where we finally sought out the lovely gardens at the Villa Cimbrone. The view from the hill there is every bit as spectacular as posters on this site have claimed it to be.
We had been to Capri previously but only on a day trip so we decided to stay there two days this time. A good decision. It was one of the highlights of the entire trip. My daughter and son-in-law joined us and the six of us rented a private boat to take us around the island. The boat owner and his helper were very accommodating and took us between the Faragliolini rock formations and waited while 4 of the 6 of us swam through the green grotto. The latter proved much nicer than the more famous Blue Grotto since we had the whole area to ourselves. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Syrene, a very nice place about a block from the super-pricey Quisisiana (sp?) which was right in the heart of the island shopping, had a nice pool and large rooms with patios looking down over the street action but also out onto the sea.
For the gentlemen in our party, another highlight of our Capri time was the sighting of a Daisy Duke type woman clothed in the shortest shorts I have ever seen. They began fully five inches up from the bottom of her cheeks. Amazing and captured on video as was almost everything on this trip.
All six of us had dinner at the Villa Brunella on the last night we were together (my daughter and son-in-law left the following day for Rome and we moved on to the rest of our sojourn.) It was a prix fixe affair with wines from the Franciacorta area of Italy matched to the food. The villa is set high on a hill with views over the sea and the twinkling lights of Capri. It was a warm evening with gentle breezes and we were seated in the outdoor part of the restaurant space. The entire experience was reminiscent of times we have spent in Acapulco dining at their wonderful restaurants with fabulous views and terrific weather. It was made even better, however, by our waiter, certainly the best looking waiter of the trip, who came to the table saying--I am here--then a pause for emphasis--for you--as he looked directly into your eyes. The phrase was repeated often during the entire trip and always evoked a giggle.
We spent three days in Positano and enjoyed every minute. It is one of our favorite places in the whole world and it always delights us. We stayed again at the Covo dei Saraceni, directly on the beach next to the ferry dock platform. Rooms with balconies looking out onto the beach there provide an endless opportunity for people and activity watching. The hotel has renovated their pool area, making it a truly special place to hang out and relax. From Positano we took day trips to Amalfi and to Ravello where we finally sought out the lovely gardens at the Villa Cimbrone. The view from the hill there is every bit as spectacular as posters on this site have claimed it to be.
We had been to Capri previously but only on a day trip so we decided to stay there two days this time. A good decision. It was one of the highlights of the entire trip. My daughter and son-in-law joined us and the six of us rented a private boat to take us around the island. The boat owner and his helper were very accommodating and took us between the Faragliolini rock formations and waited while 4 of the 6 of us swam through the green grotto. The latter proved much nicer than the more famous Blue Grotto since we had the whole area to ourselves. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Syrene, a very nice place about a block from the super-pricey Quisisiana (sp?) which was right in the heart of the island shopping, had a nice pool and large rooms with patios looking down over the street action but also out onto the sea.
For the gentlemen in our party, another highlight of our Capri time was the sighting of a Daisy Duke type woman clothed in the shortest shorts I have ever seen. They began fully five inches up from the bottom of her cheeks. Amazing and captured on video as was almost everything on this trip.
All six of us had dinner at the Villa Brunella on the last night we were together (my daughter and son-in-law left the following day for Rome and we moved on to the rest of our sojourn.) It was a prix fixe affair with wines from the Franciacorta area of Italy matched to the food. The villa is set high on a hill with views over the sea and the twinkling lights of Capri. It was a warm evening with gentle breezes and we were seated in the outdoor part of the restaurant space. The entire experience was reminiscent of times we have spent in Acapulco dining at their wonderful restaurants with fabulous views and terrific weather. It was made even better, however, by our waiter, certainly the best looking waiter of the trip, who came to the table saying--I am here--then a pause for emphasis--for you--as he looked directly into your eyes. The phrase was repeated often during the entire trip and always evoked a giggle.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:54 AM
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Umbria--Villa Milani
Our next stop was Spoleto in Umbria. We had been to parts of Tuscany on two previous trips and while we liked it, we decided we should also check out Umbria seemingly the next Tuscany. We liked it but we did not love it as we do Tuscany, especially Southern Tuscany. Our choice of hotel here was inspired--the Villa Milani. I had found it on the ItalyBy site and it lived up to its pictures. True to its name, it is an old villa built by an architect. The ceilings in the living room reminded me of those in the Doges Palace in Venice and the views from the outdoor terraces where we ate our breakfasts were superb. Individual rooms are nicely appointed with small but clean and modern bathrooms amply supplied with luxury toiletries, robes, etc.
Norcia
While at the Villa Milani we actually never even went into the town of Spoleto, choosing rather to spend our time doing day trips to the smaller towns of Norcia and Todi. The former is charming and, as advertised, has beautiful butchershops displaying pork products. Food is my passion so I was in heaven, so was my husband who is passionate about photography. Hanging hams and sausages make wonderful photographic subjects. The town of Norcia also has interesting churches and civic buildings on a wonderful square but it is those butchershops that set it apart from the other many towns of similar beauty in Umbria.
Todi taxi
Todi was a whole other thing. It's a hill town--which town in Tuscany or Umbria, is not? (Actually Norcia, perhaps that is another reason I liked it so much.) As so often happens to us, we found ourselves tricked into thinking that it was a pedestrians only city so we parked our car and walked up the long, long hill to the main square. This was really up hill. I had had knee replacement surgery about three months previous and had wisely decided to bring a walking stick but even with that assistive implement, I was approaching the limits of my ability to keep climbing. I sat for an espresso while the other three scrambled further up the many steps to the Todi cathedral and joked about praying for the Todi Taxi to save me from the equally difficult descent. Never expecting to find a taxi in the small town especially on a Sunday, we deemed it a minor miracle when what should appear but the very Todi Taxi for which I had hoped. It was driven by a very elderly gentleman who we decided must have been around during WWII because his only English seemed to be--"OK, Joe." Seeing my obvious pain, he even declined initially to accept payment for his services in driving us back down the hill, but we forced payment on him and would gladly have paid ten times the standard price for the service.
Todi is a very attractive town and worth a visit. Just don't be fooled by the pedestrian only thing and know that if you find the right entrance to the town you can drive up to the top and park a car right by the location where the Todi Taxi hangs out
Our next stop was Spoleto in Umbria. We had been to parts of Tuscany on two previous trips and while we liked it, we decided we should also check out Umbria seemingly the next Tuscany. We liked it but we did not love it as we do Tuscany, especially Southern Tuscany. Our choice of hotel here was inspired--the Villa Milani. I had found it on the ItalyBy site and it lived up to its pictures. True to its name, it is an old villa built by an architect. The ceilings in the living room reminded me of those in the Doges Palace in Venice and the views from the outdoor terraces where we ate our breakfasts were superb. Individual rooms are nicely appointed with small but clean and modern bathrooms amply supplied with luxury toiletries, robes, etc.
Norcia
While at the Villa Milani we actually never even went into the town of Spoleto, choosing rather to spend our time doing day trips to the smaller towns of Norcia and Todi. The former is charming and, as advertised, has beautiful butchershops displaying pork products. Food is my passion so I was in heaven, so was my husband who is passionate about photography. Hanging hams and sausages make wonderful photographic subjects. The town of Norcia also has interesting churches and civic buildings on a wonderful square but it is those butchershops that set it apart from the other many towns of similar beauty in Umbria.
Todi taxi
Todi was a whole other thing. It's a hill town--which town in Tuscany or Umbria, is not? (Actually Norcia, perhaps that is another reason I liked it so much.) As so often happens to us, we found ourselves tricked into thinking that it was a pedestrians only city so we parked our car and walked up the long, long hill to the main square. This was really up hill. I had had knee replacement surgery about three months previous and had wisely decided to bring a walking stick but even with that assistive implement, I was approaching the limits of my ability to keep climbing. I sat for an espresso while the other three scrambled further up the many steps to the Todi cathedral and joked about praying for the Todi Taxi to save me from the equally difficult descent. Never expecting to find a taxi in the small town especially on a Sunday, we deemed it a minor miracle when what should appear but the very Todi Taxi for which I had hoped. It was driven by a very elderly gentleman who we decided must have been around during WWII because his only English seemed to be--"OK, Joe." Seeing my obvious pain, he even declined initially to accept payment for his services in driving us back down the hill, but we forced payment on him and would gladly have paid ten times the standard price for the service.
Todi is a very attractive town and worth a visit. Just don't be fooled by the pedestrian only thing and know that if you find the right entrance to the town you can drive up to the top and park a car right by the location where the Todi Taxi hangs out
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:55 AM
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Assisi and pigeon poop
It was in this area of Umbria that we made a very important discovery--the wine of Montefalco, a wonderful red made from the Sagrantino grape, that in our opinions certainly rivals if not surpasses the venerated Brunello of Tuscany. We visited the cute little town of Montefalco and did some tasting then moved on to Assisi to see the Basilica. This was not a highlight of the trip. It is about as uphill as Todi (and with no taxi in sight as we schlepped along on a very warm day looking for lunch) and it was also the scene of this year's pigeon poop episode. A little history here. Every year for the last 5 years or so we go on a fall trip with the same group of 4. Every year wherever we go, I am the target or a pigeon attack. This year was no exception and may even have been more dramatic than usual. While climbing up a hill, hopelessly lost, through ancient narrow streets with medieval buildings on either side, we came across a small group of Japanese tourists busily snapping pictures. When I felt the warm dump of pigeon excrement hit and then begin to trickle down my person, I was startled (you would think I would be inured to this by now but not so) and screamed at the top of my lungs causing the tour group to all but abandon their cameras and flee for dear life. I cleaned up with my trusty wet wipes and we soldiered on but the episode did cast a kind of pall over the remainder of our experience there. Pigeon poop aside (or at least cleaned up), the cathedral is beautiful. It is also one of the most touristy and over run places we went to. Parking is at several lots with buses to take you back to the church area. And there are monks and guards everywhere shhhshing tourists continually as they traipse through the upper and lower portions of the church. The place is beautiful but the experience is not.
Tuscany
We had been to Tuscany twice before, once just barely scratching the surface to see San Gimignano and again in 2001 just after 9/11 staying in Pienza 4 or 5 days after planes began to fly again. Then as now we visited Montalcino and Montepulciano and the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery with its fabulous frescoes and plenty of other places but both times my favorite part of Tuscany was the fields and vistas. The grey, brown, taupe fields of giant clods of plowed dirt stretch on and over each other into infinity broken periodically by stands of tall, stately cypress trees along the ridgelines. That fields of dirt could be so beautiful is amazing. On our visit this time, the church of San Biaggio outside of Montepulciano was decorated, probably for a wedding earlier in the week, in giant bouquets of wilting sunflowers, perfect with the size and color and ambiance of the church. In Castellina in Chianti I stopped into a lovely, artsy modern store on the main street selling Chianti wines and other things Chiantian, and picked up a copy of Too Much Tuscan Sun, the book by a Tuscan tour guide so hotly debated on this site.
It was in this area of Umbria that we made a very important discovery--the wine of Montefalco, a wonderful red made from the Sagrantino grape, that in our opinions certainly rivals if not surpasses the venerated Brunello of Tuscany. We visited the cute little town of Montefalco and did some tasting then moved on to Assisi to see the Basilica. This was not a highlight of the trip. It is about as uphill as Todi (and with no taxi in sight as we schlepped along on a very warm day looking for lunch) and it was also the scene of this year's pigeon poop episode. A little history here. Every year for the last 5 years or so we go on a fall trip with the same group of 4. Every year wherever we go, I am the target or a pigeon attack. This year was no exception and may even have been more dramatic than usual. While climbing up a hill, hopelessly lost, through ancient narrow streets with medieval buildings on either side, we came across a small group of Japanese tourists busily snapping pictures. When I felt the warm dump of pigeon excrement hit and then begin to trickle down my person, I was startled (you would think I would be inured to this by now but not so) and screamed at the top of my lungs causing the tour group to all but abandon their cameras and flee for dear life. I cleaned up with my trusty wet wipes and we soldiered on but the episode did cast a kind of pall over the remainder of our experience there. Pigeon poop aside (or at least cleaned up), the cathedral is beautiful. It is also one of the most touristy and over run places we went to. Parking is at several lots with buses to take you back to the church area. And there are monks and guards everywhere shhhshing tourists continually as they traipse through the upper and lower portions of the church. The place is beautiful but the experience is not.
Tuscany
We had been to Tuscany twice before, once just barely scratching the surface to see San Gimignano and again in 2001 just after 9/11 staying in Pienza 4 or 5 days after planes began to fly again. Then as now we visited Montalcino and Montepulciano and the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery with its fabulous frescoes and plenty of other places but both times my favorite part of Tuscany was the fields and vistas. The grey, brown, taupe fields of giant clods of plowed dirt stretch on and over each other into infinity broken periodically by stands of tall, stately cypress trees along the ridgelines. That fields of dirt could be so beautiful is amazing. On our visit this time, the church of San Biaggio outside of Montepulciano was decorated, probably for a wedding earlier in the week, in giant bouquets of wilting sunflowers, perfect with the size and color and ambiance of the church. In Castellina in Chianti I stopped into a lovely, artsy modern store on the main street selling Chianti wines and other things Chiantian, and picked up a copy of Too Much Tuscan Sun, the book by a Tuscan tour guide so hotly debated on this site.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:55 AM
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La Saracina
While in Tuscany previously we had stayed at Il Chiostro directly in the small but centrally located town of Pienza. While we liked the hotel and the town we wanted to try something new this time and opted for La Saracina, located between Pienza and Montefellonico. Like the Villa Milani, it too was an inspired choice and our favorite lodging of the trip. La Saracina is an old villa with only 5 rooms/apartments down a dirt road owned by a youngish woman and staffed by several young women including the fabulous Fabiola who looked after all our needs and requests. Each of our rooms was comprised of a large bedroom/sitting area with a bathroom the same size as the bedroom. The bathrooms had both showers and tubs/Jacuzzis and floors covered in full size oriental rugs. We could have held a small reception in ours. The luxury of so much space in a bathroom is now something I will forever crave. The furnishings were attractive, eclectic and even funky and the overall feeling was one of luxury and well-being. Our bedroom had a shelf full of preserved back issues of Bell Italia magazines. Had it rained, I could have happily spent days just perusing the beautiful pictures of Italy and its heritage in those magazines. Breakfast was served in a separate building with glass on two sides and furnishings worthy of Martha Stewart does Tuscany. Truly the place was right out of a Tuscany home furnishings magazine. The dishes and linens (perfectly matched to each other) were different each day and we stayed there three nights. And the food--presented with understated country elegance--was the equal of the surroundings. Little cookies were served next to a dish of warm, thick, chocolate for dipping. A basket of freshly picked figs was brought in by the gardener who had just picked them. A variety of rolls and croissants so ubiquitous on breakfast buffet tables, were special here made so by being warmed perfectly and served beautifully. The thin, thin slices of salami and proscuitto were even more tasty than those we had elsewhere and were accompanied by a variety of cheeses sliced so that guests didn't even have to exert themselves in that arduous task. Beautiful floral arrangements adorned each glass-topped table. Everything was just perfect in that the most perfect of Tuscan worlds. Even our laundry was returned perfectly folded. We all agreed that we would return in a heartbeat.
Return to Umbria/Orvieto
While staying at La Saracina we took a day trip to Orvieto, technically back in Umbria. While it might have been more logical to have gone there as we traversed from the Amalfi coast to Spoleto, it didn't work out well for us that way and turned out to be easily reached by motor way from the Pienza area. Orvieto turned out to be my favorite hill town. The church has that black and white striped stone pattern like Siena only while the black marble appears green to me in Siena, it appears blue to me in Orvieto, especially in the interior where a blue rose window diffuses the light. One chapel had an interesting, almost out of place Art Deco pulpit, something I've never seen before. I loved that cathedral. The rest of the town is charming. Nice streets with lovely shops and little side streets. Another place I'd go back to. After lunch outside of Orvieto, we made a pilgrimage to Civita, the little town made famous by Rick Steves with only 15 remaining residents reached by very steep footbridge from Bagnoreggio (sp?) This was an immense workout for my new knee and a real challenge for my friend who has a fear of heights. I have to say the experience was overall more one you do to say you've done it than to provide the glimpse of a charming, undiscovered old world place it's purported to be.
While in Tuscany previously we had stayed at Il Chiostro directly in the small but centrally located town of Pienza. While we liked the hotel and the town we wanted to try something new this time and opted for La Saracina, located between Pienza and Montefellonico. Like the Villa Milani, it too was an inspired choice and our favorite lodging of the trip. La Saracina is an old villa with only 5 rooms/apartments down a dirt road owned by a youngish woman and staffed by several young women including the fabulous Fabiola who looked after all our needs and requests. Each of our rooms was comprised of a large bedroom/sitting area with a bathroom the same size as the bedroom. The bathrooms had both showers and tubs/Jacuzzis and floors covered in full size oriental rugs. We could have held a small reception in ours. The luxury of so much space in a bathroom is now something I will forever crave. The furnishings were attractive, eclectic and even funky and the overall feeling was one of luxury and well-being. Our bedroom had a shelf full of preserved back issues of Bell Italia magazines. Had it rained, I could have happily spent days just perusing the beautiful pictures of Italy and its heritage in those magazines. Breakfast was served in a separate building with glass on two sides and furnishings worthy of Martha Stewart does Tuscany. Truly the place was right out of a Tuscany home furnishings magazine. The dishes and linens (perfectly matched to each other) were different each day and we stayed there three nights. And the food--presented with understated country elegance--was the equal of the surroundings. Little cookies were served next to a dish of warm, thick, chocolate for dipping. A basket of freshly picked figs was brought in by the gardener who had just picked them. A variety of rolls and croissants so ubiquitous on breakfast buffet tables, were special here made so by being warmed perfectly and served beautifully. The thin, thin slices of salami and proscuitto were even more tasty than those we had elsewhere and were accompanied by a variety of cheeses sliced so that guests didn't even have to exert themselves in that arduous task. Beautiful floral arrangements adorned each glass-topped table. Everything was just perfect in that the most perfect of Tuscan worlds. Even our laundry was returned perfectly folded. We all agreed that we would return in a heartbeat.
Return to Umbria/Orvieto
While staying at La Saracina we took a day trip to Orvieto, technically back in Umbria. While it might have been more logical to have gone there as we traversed from the Amalfi coast to Spoleto, it didn't work out well for us that way and turned out to be easily reached by motor way from the Pienza area. Orvieto turned out to be my favorite hill town. The church has that black and white striped stone pattern like Siena only while the black marble appears green to me in Siena, it appears blue to me in Orvieto, especially in the interior where a blue rose window diffuses the light. One chapel had an interesting, almost out of place Art Deco pulpit, something I've never seen before. I loved that cathedral. The rest of the town is charming. Nice streets with lovely shops and little side streets. Another place I'd go back to. After lunch outside of Orvieto, we made a pilgrimage to Civita, the little town made famous by Rick Steves with only 15 remaining residents reached by very steep footbridge from Bagnoreggio (sp?) This was an immense workout for my new knee and a real challenge for my friend who has a fear of heights. I have to say the experience was overall more one you do to say you've done it than to provide the glimpse of a charming, undiscovered old world place it's purported to be.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:56 AM
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Florence ala ira
After so many days in the countryside we finally broke down and entered a big city. We had been to Florence many years ago but our traveling companions had not so we booked two nights there. I enjoyed it much more this time than previously though it still does not provide me the thrill it does so many others. We were there on a Monday and followed the Monday tour outlined by ira in his response to a poster here who wondered what to do on the only day that the museums close in the city. The Monday tour was perfect. We saw a great deal of the city without needing to travel at breakneck speed. Thanks, ira, for your advice. On Tuesday we went to the Uffizi and our friends also went to the Accademia. I almost feel like a terrible person but I have to admit that so much of the art just seems lost on me. I love architecture but painting, especially old, religious painting, pretty much leaves me cold. I feel sad that I cannot stand before a famous work of art and weep for the beauty but it just doesn't happen. I was especially looking forward to seeing the Botticelli Birth of Venus. I love the pictures I've seen of it in books, but the real thing looks muted and dusty to me even though it bears a sign saying it has recently been restored. ( I feel the same way about Georgia O'Keefe paintings and for sure about the Mona Lisa.--but enough public confession.)
In Florence we stayed at the Loggiata di Serviti. It is a very nice hotel, well located within easy reach of the Duomo and on its own enormous square. Rooms have that typically Italian shower with a drain in the floor thing, but otherwise I would stay there again and judging from the glowing comments in the visitor log I guess that is the prevailing opinion (or else the management tears out the pages with bad comments.)
One of my favorite sights in Florence was the San Lorenzo market. It is an enormous metal arched building typical of covered markets with vegetables upstairs and fish and meat downstairs. They had the most extensive displays of tripe I have ever seen with lots of different varieties of the heinous stuff.
Elegance, luxury and beauty in Montecatini Terme
Upon leaving Florence we headed toward Portovenere on advice of Bobthenavigator but stopped in Montecatini Terme and Lucca enroute. The former may be the largest spa town in Italy. It has several spas but the generally agreed most beautiful is Testuccio and so we headed there. They charge an entry fee just to walk about the grounds but it is well worth it. The main building, built during the heyday of kings and princes, is beautifully preserved with a hall of faucets spilling healthful, healing waters from the various thermal springs in the area. I did not drink the waters but my friends did and said they ranged from palatable to awful and cool to very hot. The drink hall is surrounded by shops selling pricey clothing and Princess Marcella Borghese cosmetics and even an art museum in Art Nouveau style with curved wooden tree trunk like arches. The café serving things other than water is a study in turn of the century décor, a true throw back to days of elegance and luxury. So are most of the guests, who dress quite formally in suits (ladies and men) and elegant jewelry and sensible shoes and either walk about as they sip from their mugs or sit at tables playing cards and listening to the musical acts in the bandstand area. It is another world and another time but fun to pop in on.
After so many days in the countryside we finally broke down and entered a big city. We had been to Florence many years ago but our traveling companions had not so we booked two nights there. I enjoyed it much more this time than previously though it still does not provide me the thrill it does so many others. We were there on a Monday and followed the Monday tour outlined by ira in his response to a poster here who wondered what to do on the only day that the museums close in the city. The Monday tour was perfect. We saw a great deal of the city without needing to travel at breakneck speed. Thanks, ira, for your advice. On Tuesday we went to the Uffizi and our friends also went to the Accademia. I almost feel like a terrible person but I have to admit that so much of the art just seems lost on me. I love architecture but painting, especially old, religious painting, pretty much leaves me cold. I feel sad that I cannot stand before a famous work of art and weep for the beauty but it just doesn't happen. I was especially looking forward to seeing the Botticelli Birth of Venus. I love the pictures I've seen of it in books, but the real thing looks muted and dusty to me even though it bears a sign saying it has recently been restored. ( I feel the same way about Georgia O'Keefe paintings and for sure about the Mona Lisa.--but enough public confession.)
In Florence we stayed at the Loggiata di Serviti. It is a very nice hotel, well located within easy reach of the Duomo and on its own enormous square. Rooms have that typically Italian shower with a drain in the floor thing, but otherwise I would stay there again and judging from the glowing comments in the visitor log I guess that is the prevailing opinion (or else the management tears out the pages with bad comments.)
One of my favorite sights in Florence was the San Lorenzo market. It is an enormous metal arched building typical of covered markets with vegetables upstairs and fish and meat downstairs. They had the most extensive displays of tripe I have ever seen with lots of different varieties of the heinous stuff.
Elegance, luxury and beauty in Montecatini Terme
Upon leaving Florence we headed toward Portovenere on advice of Bobthenavigator but stopped in Montecatini Terme and Lucca enroute. The former may be the largest spa town in Italy. It has several spas but the generally agreed most beautiful is Testuccio and so we headed there. They charge an entry fee just to walk about the grounds but it is well worth it. The main building, built during the heyday of kings and princes, is beautifully preserved with a hall of faucets spilling healthful, healing waters from the various thermal springs in the area. I did not drink the waters but my friends did and said they ranged from palatable to awful and cool to very hot. The drink hall is surrounded by shops selling pricey clothing and Princess Marcella Borghese cosmetics and even an art museum in Art Nouveau style with curved wooden tree trunk like arches. The café serving things other than water is a study in turn of the century décor, a true throw back to days of elegance and luxury. So are most of the guests, who dress quite formally in suits (ladies and men) and elegant jewelry and sensible shoes and either walk about as they sip from their mugs or sit at tables playing cards and listening to the musical acts in the bandstand area. It is another world and another time but fun to pop in on.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:57 AM
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Portovenere and the Cinque Terre
Finally, after years and years of collecting travel magazine articles about the Cinque Terre even before it became the trendiest place in Italy to travel to, I got to see the place for myself. We stayed in Portovenere at the Hotel Royal Sporting along with a group of physicists discussing laser and plasma something or other. We liked Portovenere as much as Bob said we would, finding it almost the spitting image of Camogli, one of our favorite Italian seaside places. We only spent one day in CT, visiting by boat and stopping in Monterrosa and in Vernazza. We didn't hike--my knee replacement, remember. (Who am I kidding? We wouldn't have hiked if I had been tip top. We just aren't hikers any more than we are religious art aficionados.) Miraculously I was able to exit and enter the boat up the swiveling gangplank as the boat bobbed in the rather rough sea. Views from the boat of the coast were beautiful in spite of threatening rain. And the whole idea of people living on the sides of the hills and cultivating grapes there with so little access to the rest of the world was amazing. Monterossa was hosting a weekly market making it even more fun to explore than it otherwise might have been and Vernazza looked more like the pictures I'd seen of it than the Botticelli Venus did. All in all it was something of a dream fulfilled.
Santa Margherita and the Ligurian coast
Our final stay was in Santa Margherita Ligure, a town we'd stopped in on a couple of previous trips but never stayed in. It proved to be much more than we had realized. We enjoyed its lively restaurant scene and found its church quite beautiful with its glass chandeliers and gold leaf ceilings and alters. We also enjoyed staying at the Hotel Miremare, an old Grande Dame of a place that is beautifully kept up with lovely grounds and elegant.rooms. While there we made one day trip to Portofino by boat, always a treat, and one to Camogli by car since the seas were too rough to go there by boat. I guess the seas were rough! The surf poured in with twenty feet of foam behind each wave and the waves swelled higher and higher as we watched from the second story window of the Moreia restaurant and ate a typically Ligurian lunch. It was quite a show. Eventually the rain also came--just about the only rain of our entire trip--cutting us out of any chance of further exploration in the town of Camogli, but a small price to pay for the spectacular sound and wave show we had experienced. The following day we drove from the coast to Malpensa to stay in a soulless airport hotel before taking off for home at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.
Hotels and Restaurants
As long as the foregoing is, it is only a surface overview of all that we saw and experienced during 22 days. The following is appended to provide some information about other places we stayed and places we ate at so that any of you who might be interested in the hotels or restaurants might ask specific questions that we might answer rather than bore readers with more information and detail than they could ever want.
If I can summon up the energy, I plan to provide more specific restaurant information on the Chowhound and Opinionated About websites but that may take me a while.
Finally, after years and years of collecting travel magazine articles about the Cinque Terre even before it became the trendiest place in Italy to travel to, I got to see the place for myself. We stayed in Portovenere at the Hotel Royal Sporting along with a group of physicists discussing laser and plasma something or other. We liked Portovenere as much as Bob said we would, finding it almost the spitting image of Camogli, one of our favorite Italian seaside places. We only spent one day in CT, visiting by boat and stopping in Monterrosa and in Vernazza. We didn't hike--my knee replacement, remember. (Who am I kidding? We wouldn't have hiked if I had been tip top. We just aren't hikers any more than we are religious art aficionados.) Miraculously I was able to exit and enter the boat up the swiveling gangplank as the boat bobbed in the rather rough sea. Views from the boat of the coast were beautiful in spite of threatening rain. And the whole idea of people living on the sides of the hills and cultivating grapes there with so little access to the rest of the world was amazing. Monterossa was hosting a weekly market making it even more fun to explore than it otherwise might have been and Vernazza looked more like the pictures I'd seen of it than the Botticelli Venus did. All in all it was something of a dream fulfilled.
Santa Margherita and the Ligurian coast
Our final stay was in Santa Margherita Ligure, a town we'd stopped in on a couple of previous trips but never stayed in. It proved to be much more than we had realized. We enjoyed its lively restaurant scene and found its church quite beautiful with its glass chandeliers and gold leaf ceilings and alters. We also enjoyed staying at the Hotel Miremare, an old Grande Dame of a place that is beautifully kept up with lovely grounds and elegant.rooms. While there we made one day trip to Portofino by boat, always a treat, and one to Camogli by car since the seas were too rough to go there by boat. I guess the seas were rough! The surf poured in with twenty feet of foam behind each wave and the waves swelled higher and higher as we watched from the second story window of the Moreia restaurant and ate a typically Ligurian lunch. It was quite a show. Eventually the rain also came--just about the only rain of our entire trip--cutting us out of any chance of further exploration in the town of Camogli, but a small price to pay for the spectacular sound and wave show we had experienced. The following day we drove from the coast to Malpensa to stay in a soulless airport hotel before taking off for home at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.
Hotels and Restaurants
As long as the foregoing is, it is only a surface overview of all that we saw and experienced during 22 days. The following is appended to provide some information about other places we stayed and places we ate at so that any of you who might be interested in the hotels or restaurants might ask specific questions that we might answer rather than bore readers with more information and detail than they could ever want.
If I can summon up the energy, I plan to provide more specific restaurant information on the Chowhound and Opinionated About websites but that may take me a while.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:57 AM
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Hotels
As mentioned, our favorites were La Saracina, outside Pienza and Montefellonico, Villa Milani near Spoleto and Miremare in Santa Margherita Ligure. The others we stayed at and our general impressions:
Positano--Covo dei Saraceni: Well located near beach, nice property, excellent pool, be sure to request room with balcony overlooking the beach.
Capri--Syrene: Pretty good value for high priced Capri. Good pool, nice large rooms, good location
Castel Rigone, north of Lake Trasimeno--Relais La Fattoria: A real disappointment. Looked lovely on website but was poorly kept up, hard to reach, did not have elevators to many of the rooms, needs renovation. It does have a pretty good restaurant.
Monteriggioni area not far from San Gimignano--Borgo San Luigi: A major, major disappointment. We had viewed this property personally in 2001, liked the look of the grounds, found pictures in the brochure enchanting, even recommended it to others on this site (so sorry, MollyPool1) In reality it is poorly kept up, needs better management and improved service and some minor renovation. Even as we drove in, we were excited since from a moderate distance the grounds still look lovely and cared for and the pool is enormous and beautiful. Upon closer inspection, however, there were cigarette butts strewn around the pool deck, a broken glass in a flower pot, chair cushions in need of cleaning and possible replacement. When I entered the bar area, the staff were seated watching tv and had to rouse themselves, couldn't find a wine menu and had to take me to the refrigerator to pick out a bottle of wine to drink while we waited for our room to become available. The basic property is terrific, could be one of the best resorts in that part of Tuscany, but it just plain suffers from lack of attention and poor management. I wanted to shake the people and tell them to get going and make something of the place. Even now, when we view our tapes, the place looks fabulous and anyone seeing them would book the hotel immediately. Looks are deceiving, however, this place is just not what it's cracked up to be. So sad. We had been so looking forward to staying in this place and it was so disappointing.
Florence--Loggiata di Serviti: As described, a nice, serviceable hotel in a great location with some considerable charm.
Portovenere--Hotel Royal Sporting: Nice balconies with great water views, good sized rooms, nice breakfast by the large pool. Though a bit of a walk into the main part of town, we would stay here again.
Malpensa--First Hotel: This is apparently the only hotel directly on/near the airport grounds. It only has 58 rooms. With this monopoly they can charge a lot for very little. The place is new but sterile and soulless as most (all?) airport hotels are but with a 6 a.m. flight it was a necessary evil.
As mentioned, our favorites were La Saracina, outside Pienza and Montefellonico, Villa Milani near Spoleto and Miremare in Santa Margherita Ligure. The others we stayed at and our general impressions:
Positano--Covo dei Saraceni: Well located near beach, nice property, excellent pool, be sure to request room with balcony overlooking the beach.
Capri--Syrene: Pretty good value for high priced Capri. Good pool, nice large rooms, good location
Castel Rigone, north of Lake Trasimeno--Relais La Fattoria: A real disappointment. Looked lovely on website but was poorly kept up, hard to reach, did not have elevators to many of the rooms, needs renovation. It does have a pretty good restaurant.
Monteriggioni area not far from San Gimignano--Borgo San Luigi: A major, major disappointment. We had viewed this property personally in 2001, liked the look of the grounds, found pictures in the brochure enchanting, even recommended it to others on this site (so sorry, MollyPool1) In reality it is poorly kept up, needs better management and improved service and some minor renovation. Even as we drove in, we were excited since from a moderate distance the grounds still look lovely and cared for and the pool is enormous and beautiful. Upon closer inspection, however, there were cigarette butts strewn around the pool deck, a broken glass in a flower pot, chair cushions in need of cleaning and possible replacement. When I entered the bar area, the staff were seated watching tv and had to rouse themselves, couldn't find a wine menu and had to take me to the refrigerator to pick out a bottle of wine to drink while we waited for our room to become available. The basic property is terrific, could be one of the best resorts in that part of Tuscany, but it just plain suffers from lack of attention and poor management. I wanted to shake the people and tell them to get going and make something of the place. Even now, when we view our tapes, the place looks fabulous and anyone seeing them would book the hotel immediately. Looks are deceiving, however, this place is just not what it's cracked up to be. So sad. We had been so looking forward to staying in this place and it was so disappointing.
Florence--Loggiata di Serviti: As described, a nice, serviceable hotel in a great location with some considerable charm.
Portovenere--Hotel Royal Sporting: Nice balconies with great water views, good sized rooms, nice breakfast by the large pool. Though a bit of a walk into the main part of town, we would stay here again.
Malpensa--First Hotel: This is apparently the only hotel directly on/near the airport grounds. It only has 58 rooms. With this monopoly they can charge a lot for very little. The place is new but sterile and soulless as most (all?) airport hotels are but with a 6 a.m. flight it was a necessary evil.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:58 AM
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Restaurants
Eating is one of the most important aspects of travel for our group. We do significant research on restaurants before embarking on a trip, make advance reservations at Michelin-starred places and even reroute our itinerary on occasion to provide the opportunity to eat at some particularly exciting place. This time we ate at four Michelin two star places and several one stars, and a number of other places recommended on this site or on other foody sites I frequent. Some of the more well known places we ate and what we thought of them were:
Don Alfonso in Sant Agata Due Golfo outside Positano--A Michelin 2 star that at one time had all three. The drive to this place is almost better than the place itself. Due Golfo means two Gulfs and at a couple of points along the way you can see the myriad lights of the Gulf of Salerno on one side of the car and the Gulf of Napoli on the other. It is breathtaking, but not for the faint of heart. The drive from Positano takes a fair amount of time and is pretty hair raising. Though I had heard that the restaurant décor is a bit tired and rustic for a major restaurant, we found it quiet, restful and pretty. Several of our dishes were variations on a theme, peppers in one dish, tuna in various forms in another, and lemon treatments in the dessert plate. Pleasant and not stuffy service. A good experience.
Vissani near Baschi which is a ways from Orvieto--another two star that was nearly impossible to find. We went for lunch and made our reservation for 2 p.m. given our schedule. We arrived exhausted from our search for the place and were greeted with no warmth. It appeared that only one other table had been/was occupied that day, by a single gentleman who read throughout his meal. The place is beautiful, more like an elegant house with grand piano and sitting rooms filled with modern art besides the dining rooms. Two windows provided views into the immaculate and beautiful kitchens (where apparently a staff of 16 was working to provide the food for our table of 4 and the other diner) and fit into the art theme as the windows into the kitchen were framed in elaborate gold and wood frames. The breads alone were worth the frustrating search for the place. My favorite was a tiny potato roll in which you could taste and feel the chunks of potato and that tasted a lot like the Swedish lefse of my childhood. Food was excellent and beautifully presented but my selected starter that included grape soup that also featured herring was just too discordant for me. Just too big a push of the old culinary envelope IMHO. Dessert was the best tiramisu of my life. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, the food was mostly superb but the overall experience lacked soul.
Oct 16th, 2003, 03:59 AM
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Arnolfo in Colle de Val d'Elsa near Monteriggioni and San Gimignano, now that was a restaurant with soul. The warmth that was missing at Vissani was here in spades. The owner/maitre d' provided every service we could have asked for, translated the Italian menu into English for us, provided information about wines and the restaurant and the dishes we were eating, just made the entire experience personal and fun. The décor while nowhere near as costly and elegant as Vissani was its own unique setting with art deco touches and complimenting music from the 30s and 40s. The food was not trendy but highly competent and wonderfully tasty. Both brother owners (the maitre d' and the younger chef) said good-bye and helped usher us out the door and a young waiter ran after our car in the rain to deliver the wine label that we had asked be removed from the bottle for our travel log but that had been forgotten as we left. This experience had it all. Great food, good anbiance, exceptional service and soul. It was my overall favorite meal--at least my overall favorite Michelin starred meal.
In the interest of finishing this report I will just mention a couple of other restaurants that I think might be of interest because I've seen them written about on this or other sites or that are in places where others might likely bump into them.
Il Postale in Citta di Castello is a cute/attractive little place in a cute/attractive little town It is in Umbria about 30 miles or so from Gubbio. The owners are young 30-somethings who have taken an old postal garage and turned it into a very modern restaurant with hanging halogen lights, ceramic plates on the walls and beautiful stained glass room dividers. They serve modern dishes too like scallops with lime and cheese sauce and a dollop of caviar. I'm guessing that this place will become a two star very soon and it deserves to.
Ai Quattro Venti is a very small restaurant right on the main square of Montepulciano. It is worth getting there early for lunch because it fills up almost as soon as it opens. I had the best bruschetta of my life there (and the best gnocchi on a previous trip). No stars, not even in any guidebook that I own and I own a lot, but it has great food and it is in a perfect spot.
La Chiusa in Montefellonico near Pienza is one of those places mentioned in almost every guidebook and often posted about on food and travel websites. Wine Spectator featured its chef (one of the few women chefs in Italy) in a full page picture in their special on Tuscany a couple of years ago. The food is fabulous as advertised and we were even treated to a stroll through the kitchen to meet chef Dania, a cute little trick who had cooked many dinners that evening and looked like one of her better dressed guests. She didn't even appear to have raised a sweat. This place is a never fail favorite.
In the interest of finishing this report I will just mention a couple of other restaurants that I think might be of interest because I've seen them written about on this or other sites or that are in places where others might likely bump into them.
Il Postale in Citta di Castello is a cute/attractive little place in a cute/attractive little town It is in Umbria about 30 miles or so from Gubbio. The owners are young 30-somethings who have taken an old postal garage and turned it into a very modern restaurant with hanging halogen lights, ceramic plates on the walls and beautiful stained glass room dividers. They serve modern dishes too like scallops with lime and cheese sauce and a dollop of caviar. I'm guessing that this place will become a two star very soon and it deserves to.
Ai Quattro Venti is a very small restaurant right on the main square of Montepulciano. It is worth getting there early for lunch because it fills up almost as soon as it opens. I had the best bruschetta of my life there (and the best gnocchi on a previous trip). No stars, not even in any guidebook that I own and I own a lot, but it has great food and it is in a perfect spot.
La Chiusa in Montefellonico near Pienza is one of those places mentioned in almost every guidebook and often posted about on food and travel websites. Wine Spectator featured its chef (one of the few women chefs in Italy) in a full page picture in their special on Tuscany a couple of years ago. The food is fabulous as advertised and we were even treated to a stroll through the kitchen to meet chef Dania, a cute little trick who had cooked many dinners that evening and looked like one of her better dressed guests. She didn't even appear to have raised a sweat. This place is a never fail favorite.
Oct 16th, 2003, 04:00 AM
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La Bocche is a very new place in Portovenere. It sits just at the end of the promontory on an enormous pile of rocks beneath the church and is built into the hillside. The dining room is designed to be as open to the elements as the weather will permit each day and we were lucky enough to be there on a lovely evening with warmth and gentle breezes so things were pretty open permitting unobstructed views of the rocks, the harbor and the seas. The place is minimalist fabulous and though it seems a bit out of place in otherwise rustic, old Portovenere it is undeniably beautiful in that understated way of new, classy places in major US cities. Bathrooms are up the rock requiring you to pass by a view of the stainless steel, modernist kitchens in order to reach them. They, too, are modern minimalist masterpieces. Food was likewise artfully presented but unfortunately its looks could not make up for its lack of taste and flavor. If you're in Portovenere, stop here for a drink and take in the view, but eat at one of the less pretentious places along the harbor.
Proving that even the best can have a bad night, Il Ritrovo in Florence about which it is almost impossible not to read lately if entering any website dedicated to food and/or travel or Tuscany or Florence, was a disappointment. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as good as all the hype had led me to expect. Perhaps its success (touted by the infamous Burke and Wells, mentioned frequently on Chowhound, eGullet and this site) is starting to take a toll. It was packed on a Tuesday night with every seat filled maybe even with a tour group. This was apparently overtaxing the kitchen and food came out of the kitchen at an uneven rate such that one of us would be eating while the other three watched, then two might eat while the other two looked on, etc. One dish that we ordered never did arrive. Food was good but not spectacular also. The tomato bruschetta couldn't hold a candle to that we had at Ai Quattro Venti mentioned above. For all of you who think this is one of the best little places in the world, my apologies for even daring to suggest that it might not be perfect, but unfortunately that's our assessment and we're sticking to it.
Even with all of our searching of guidebooks, websites and personal recommendations, one of our favorite meals was not at any place we learned of ahead of time. Rather it was at a last ditch location enroute to Spoleto from Salerno outside a town no one has ever heard of and selected primarily because the signs to the place looked newer and more substantial than others. It was just a place in a small town where the waiters brought no menus but just sat plates down before you and you ate until you couldn't handle anything more. An antipasto extravaganza followed by perfectly cooked and sauced pasta, 3 or 4 beers and a bottle of decent wine came to 99 euros. It was the meal everyone hopes to find. I'd give you the name and the location but it is so nowhere that it makes no difference. I will just leave it for someone else to discover by themselves, as we did, and feel really good about it.
So there you have it. Our trip to Amalfi coast, Umbria, Tuscany and Liguria. Wonderful time. Happy to answer any questions if you haven't drummed me off the site for failure to appreciate the Uffizi and other tourist sins.
JmVikmanis, alias jmv
Proving that even the best can have a bad night, Il Ritrovo in Florence about which it is almost impossible not to read lately if entering any website dedicated to food and/or travel or Tuscany or Florence, was a disappointment. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as good as all the hype had led me to expect. Perhaps its success (touted by the infamous Burke and Wells, mentioned frequently on Chowhound, eGullet and this site) is starting to take a toll. It was packed on a Tuesday night with every seat filled maybe even with a tour group. This was apparently overtaxing the kitchen and food came out of the kitchen at an uneven rate such that one of us would be eating while the other three watched, then two might eat while the other two looked on, etc. One dish that we ordered never did arrive. Food was good but not spectacular also. The tomato bruschetta couldn't hold a candle to that we had at Ai Quattro Venti mentioned above. For all of you who think this is one of the best little places in the world, my apologies for even daring to suggest that it might not be perfect, but unfortunately that's our assessment and we're sticking to it.
Even with all of our searching of guidebooks, websites and personal recommendations, one of our favorite meals was not at any place we learned of ahead of time. Rather it was at a last ditch location enroute to Spoleto from Salerno outside a town no one has ever heard of and selected primarily because the signs to the place looked newer and more substantial than others. It was just a place in a small town where the waiters brought no menus but just sat plates down before you and you ate until you couldn't handle anything more. An antipasto extravaganza followed by perfectly cooked and sauced pasta, 3 or 4 beers and a bottle of decent wine came to 99 euros. It was the meal everyone hopes to find. I'd give you the name and the location but it is so nowhere that it makes no difference. I will just leave it for someone else to discover by themselves, as we did, and feel really good about it.
So there you have it. Our trip to Amalfi coast, Umbria, Tuscany and Liguria. Wonderful time. Happy to answer any questions if you haven't drummed me off the site for failure to appreciate the Uffizi and other tourist sins.
JmVikmanis, alias jmv
Oct 16th, 2003, 06:45 AM
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Great trip report. Thanks for sharing. You mentioned the Florence plan from ira. Can you please post the thread for this info since it looks like my only day in Florence will be impacted by a strike.
Thanks
Thanks
Oct 16th, 2003, 07:13 AM
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Hi jmv,
Thanks for yur lovely report. It's a real keeper.
Glad that you enjoyed my suggested Monday.
Sorry that Il Ritrovo was a disappointment. I hope that this doesn't become another place ruined by success.
Thanks for yur lovely report. It's a real keeper.
Glad that you enjoyed my suggested Monday.
Sorry that Il Ritrovo was a disappointment. I hope that this doesn't become another place ruined by success.
Oct 16th, 2003, 07:57 AM
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Molto Bene ! Getting my vicarious thrills from your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures in Italy.
These trip reports have been coming fast and furious. For anyone else who hasn?t logged in this past week, check out two other great trip reports.
>I left my heart in Italy... Fluffy's trip report<
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451379
and
>Ira's Italy Trip Report<
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044
Molto Bene ! Getting my vicarious thrills from your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures in Italy.
These trip reports have been coming fast and furious. For anyone else who hasn?t logged in this past week, check out two other great trip reports.
>I left my heart in Italy... Fluffy's trip report<
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451379
and
>Ira's Italy Trip Report<
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044
Oct 16th, 2003, 11:20 AM
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jmv
What a fun report. I had a great chuckle imagining the Japanese tour group running off when you screamed after the pigeon bombing raid.
I loved Orvieto and its cathedral too. We were using public transport that trip, and the bus schedule to Civita di Bagnoregio was just too erratic, so we didn't go. You don't sound all that impressed with Civita, aside from the knee problem, why was that?
Thanks for the restaurant tour; eating vicariously at a Michelin three starred restaurant is about as close as I'll get.
What a fun report. I had a great chuckle imagining the Japanese tour group running off when you screamed after the pigeon bombing raid.
I loved Orvieto and its cathedral too. We were using public transport that trip, and the bus schedule to Civita di Bagnoregio was just too erratic, so we didn't go. You don't sound all that impressed with Civita, aside from the knee problem, why was that?
Thanks for the restaurant tour; eating vicariously at a Michelin three starred restaurant is about as close as I'll get.
Oct 16th, 2003, 11:52 AM
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Thank ou, jmv, for a wonderful repor5t!
When we went to Todi in 2001, we took a funicular from the parking lot up to the town. Is it no longer there? I can't imagine walking up that hill, even with good knees!
Byrd
When we went to Todi in 2001, we took a funicular from the parking lot up to the town. Is it no longer there? I can't imagine walking up that hill, even with good knees!
Byrd
Oct 16th, 2003, 12:54 PM
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Sue, Once you get there--and getting there is either the main point of the thing or at least a major aspect--Civita is only a very small town on a hilltop with an old, closed church, one B&B, one restaurant and a couple of elderly ladies sitting on those ubiquitous white plastic chairs in the remaining sunshine in the square. Though my knee didn't permit me to perch on the crumbling ledges at the edge of town as my husband did in order to snap pictures of the gorge beneath or traipse through the gardens of the little old lady who motioned him in to see the gardens then held her hand out for a donation, I don't think I missed that much--and neither did you, not getting there at all. It just isn't magical and other/old worldly as Rick Steves paints it--or at least I didn't find it so. I've walked down plenty of other streets in other less difficult to reach hill towns and seen equally, nay, better sights and cuter, craggier litle old ladies dressed in black and wearing scarves.
Byrd, if there was a funicular somewhere in Todi, I just didn't find it. I recall one, I think, in Orvieto, but not in Todi. Doesn't mean there's not one there, I just didn't find one and the guidebooks I was using didn't mention on either.
Thanks for the kind comments. It's fun to relive a trip by writing a trip report and even nicer to know that others enjoy your recollections.
Byrd, if there was a funicular somewhere in Todi, I just didn't find it. I recall one, I think, in Orvieto, but not in Todi. Doesn't mean there's not one there, I just didn't find one and the guidebooks I was using didn't mention on either.
Thanks for the kind comments. It's fun to relive a trip by writing a trip report and even nicer to know that others enjoy your recollections.
